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The Contribution of the “Dutch School” in Public Finance to the Theory of Personal Income Taxation (1870–1920)

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Abstract

Hansen's dissertation (1996) is an impressive, highly valuable, and thorough study on the problems of income taxation in Germany. These problems were also extensively discussed in Dutch economic literature around 1900. Several authors took part in the discussion, and some were also involved as politicians. They are referred to as the Dutch School in public finance. The discussions in the Netherlands were of a distinctive character as far as the tax rate (progression) is concerned. With regard to the tax base (the concept of income) there is in the case of the reform of the income tax in 1915, via in particular Treub, close affinity to that thinking in Germany, that is so eminently analyzed by Hansen.

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Meijer, G. The Contribution of the “Dutch School” in Public Finance to the Theory of Personal Income Taxation (1870–1920). European Journal of Law and Economics 10, 161–168 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018726605361

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